IS Virus: Episode 3 -The First Gathering-
by tonbonkittybon
Summary: The battle lines have been drawn. The sun sets on the brief era of peace to make way for the moon that will shine a deceptive light. Unlike Ichika, however, Sokoto will push the limits of this current world as he puts the world to the ultimate test. What? You thought there was gonna be a harem? Really? Please.
1. Chapter 1: How It Is

_Episode 3: The First Gathering_

_Part 1: How It Is_

The sun was slowly setting upon the Okinawa skyline. Everyone was beginning to wrap up their daily ritual. The summer breeze was calling the remnants of the scurry back home to their dwellings. The first of the nighttime lights were slowly shone upon carefully placed lampposts across the city. Peace was beginning to set upon the night.

And one lone renegade was on its way to ruin it.

Sokoto was on a mission to retrace the steps of the old man from the mall. The only lead he had was the nearly crumpled and dampened map he gave him, as well as the balloons that bore a significant meaning to their special bond that took only two days to materialize and strengthen. Wow, what a record.

As he approached the coastline, he saw a handful of people still gathering their belongings to retreat for the night. At first, they thought it was another drone coming in to land for the night. But nope. Once he crossed the beach line, they finally saw it. A young man piloting a robotic suit. They gasped in absolute horror. They screamed for someone, anyone to bring him down and spread the word. A futile effort, as he was too fast for them to actually focus on.

But that was nothing to him. All that mattered was rescuing the old geezer from impending danger. "Alright, Silvia, here's he plan!" Sokoto mapped out to his IS friend, "We hide out in the forest until closing! Then, we'll sneak into the mall and find that balloon stand! Any clue, any piece of fabric, any possible trace of that geezer that'll help us track him, we go into Covert Ops mode! And we don't leave until we find him and bring him back to safety!"

For all intents and purposes, Sokoto and the Silver Streamline (a.k.a. 'Silvia') will be referred to as though they were actual people. It'll make it a lot easier.

After Sokoto finished relaying his orders to Silvia, they dove head-first into a nearby forest. Right before he crashed into the ground, he stopped himself by kicking his feet down, IB'ing his entire body to act against the force of the fall and stopping himself from crashing. He called Silvia back to hide out until the appointed time. He kept a careful watch of the nearby area to make sure nobody saw them.

When the sun set, the streets were empty, and the lights flickered to life against the black night, Sokoto emerged from the bushes to storm the mall in search of his dear friend. Beneath the deceptively welcoming atmosphere of the suburban evening lies a hint of dread and uncertainty that shrouded the entrance of the mall. What could've happened? Was the old man taken away and beaten to death? Or did they make him an example to the world that men should never question the authority of women? Whatever happened, it won't go unanswered.

Sokoto and Silvia finally reached the parking lot, which is filled to the brim with security guards, all of them women. "Aw, man...hot-headed, and stubborn as hell," Sokoto whispered, "Looks like we'll have to do this by the books..." There were no cars to be found, no bushes to hide in. Just sporadically placed lampposts. The guards themselves were on the highest alerts of all highest alerts. It seemed like they didn't like the way Sokoto portrayed the upper class women, so they came to town in the hope of straightening him out and properly teaching him the truth of society. Quite possibly via torture.

They stepped into the parking lot and slowly crept towards the nearest lamppost, taking care to not make nearly the amount of noise they usually make to avoid being heard. They saw two guards with flashlights closing in on their position. They hid behind the lamppost to avoid the guards until they left, then made their way to the next lamppost. Halfway there, they saw four guards. Not good. Any one of them could swing by this way, and it's gave over for these snakes. Sokoto took off his shoe and threw it as hard as he could, hoping to divert their attention. Sure enough, it hit a trash can to their far left. The loud clanging alerted the guards to immediately beeline towards the sound, leaving Sokoto and Silvia on their merry way to the entrance.

At the entrance gate at last. "Okay, Silvia," Sokoto whispered, "Let's frack this thing." He searched the entire gate for a loose screw or a broken screen. Those pearlescent gates were very sturdy, maintained by technicians everyday. It's nearly impossible to break through those gates. They sneaked their way around along the mall wall, taking care not to be caught in the flashlights from the guards. Security must have heightened by the buttloads since their most recent exploits. Were they that much of a menace to society? What is society to them, anyway?! What's a menace?! Geez, how sensitive are these guys! At the extreme, they make Hitler look like a saint compared to the rest of the world! And that's just from a mall!

Finally, Sokoto touched to a door knob. It was a service door, a secret passage for fire escapes. He had to make sure no one was nearby to meddle with it. He pulled a metal toothpick he found while walking and tried to jiggle the door to unlock. No luck. He messed with it for five full minutes before he saw a guard coming his way. Was there any hiding place nearby? Nope, just the open concrete. He took off his other shoe and flung it to the other side to divert the guard's attention. Finally, the door clicked open without the guards realizing what was going on. But it was only a matter of time before they do. He hurried himself in, relocked the door, and blocked it with a nearby trash can to act as a barrier and a signal to give him time to prepare for the possible onslaught.

"Man...narrow corridors towards wide open spaces in the dark...Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Amnesia experience..." Seriously, the jokes aren't helping you one bit, chicken-head. Everywhere they went, it was a spook fest come full circle. The mall was a ghost town in the dark; absolutely no life whatsoever, except for the occasional lights peeping in and out every now and then. They hid behind flower beds and columns to protect himself from the terror of the light. At least the breathing doesn't give off a desperate vibe. Tension was everywhere. Every step could set off some sort of alarm, every turn could smack them into a servant grunt guard, and to top it all off, not even the moon could pierce the heavily tinted skylight windows. After fifteen minutes of hopelessly jittering nerves, they finally find what they were looking for.

A floating balloon stood before them. "Hey, that's one of the old man's balloons!" Sokoto whispered, "What happened to him? Where is he?!" For some reason, the balloon seemed to respond to his plea. It weaved its way towards a hallway, and that was their cue to follow them. They kept running after the balloon until what they were looking for. They stopped near a gate, the moon shining in the direction of the treasure.

The balloon led them to a balloon stand, completely in ruin. Only one wheel survived the destruction, but it had a drop of blood on it.

"Oh no...no...no, no, no, no, no, no..." They rushed to the destruction site, scouring its ruins for anything that the old man could've left behind as a warning of an event to come of a hint of where he was taken. They only thing they could find was a photo of Sokoto and the old man, like father and son, balloons tied to their hair like absolute morons. But happy, loving, fun morons.

Sokoto stared at the photo in solemn silence, allowing the memories to come back to him. Who did this? The cops? The guards? What was the basis for this? Why tear his life apart?

"Where is he?..." Sokoto asked the balloon. It swayed no motion, no direction, not even a jitter. The anger took him over, "WHERE IS HE?!" Still, the balloon gave no answer. It didn't need to; the answer was right behind them. It gave Sokoto ten seconds for the haunting silence to sink in before giving him a huge clue to what actually happened.

A gunshot from behind. The bullet went straight through the balloon. The pieces splattered all over.

"We dealt with him already," the guard pompously declared, with a malicious smirk on her face and ten more guards behind her, "Damn bastard deserved it."

"You...you killed my..." Sokoto slowly turned his head to face them, shivering in raw anger.

"Yep," the guard said, now shifting the aim of her gun to Sokoto, "and we're gonna do the same thing to you, Pissy Chrissy." All of the guards behind her aimed at him. The guards outside found him and aimed their guns at him as well. Sokoto could only stare in bewilderment as she went on with her speech, "This is what happens to everyone who forgets their place in this society. The men should always bend their asses towards the women. Any guy who even thinks about raising their head up to us is dead! OPEN FIRE!"

Sokoto grabbed the wheel and backed himself against the wall. The storm of lead rained down upon them. It came so fast that Silvia couldn't react in time to prepare. The wheel was their only defense against the bullet hell. Sokoto twisted the wheel to contact the bullets, but that could only buy them so much time. The wheel was slowly crumbling. It will give in.

"Come on out, little boy!" The guard taunted him, "You can't hide forever!"

The two were hanging on by a thread. When will this stop? Well, it stopped for a moment, right when the wheel was about to give way. Oh, it will give way. TO A ****ING PORTABLE MORTAR! They stared at the thing in horror. They have their luck with small firearms, but-

A ****ING PORTABLE MORTAR?! No, no way. There was only one way to block it.

"JOIN YOUR WRINKLY MATE IN DEATH!" The mortar fired.

"Now!" Sokoto pulled his collar off with his left hand a split second before the shot hit. A giant explosion rocked the mall. The balloon stand was now forever lost to the flow of time. Smoke momentarily clouded everyone's vision.

"Tch..." The guard spat, "Just like the monkeys you-WHAT THE-"

That's right. When the smoke cleared, an angel of the forgotten melodies stood before them. The balloon stand was replaced by its savior. The angel wafted the smoke away from its sight with its wings. Looks like Silvia saved Sokoto just in time.

"No...NO!" The guard now wore a face twisted with rage, "No male should be able to even-" Oh boy.

The angel brought its wrath upon the mall before she could finish her thought. In fifteen seconds, the journeys of all the guards that were hunting this angel were brought to an abrupt end. No one died, however. They all sustained severe injuries, injuries that made certain that they would never misuse their moral power again. Only one guard survived the purge and managed to outlast the angel for one minute. Unfortunately, her neck is in the angel's metallic grasp.

"Ggg...ugh..." She was struggling to fight the angel and her constricted throat. The angel held her there for ten seconds, staring at her with eyes that spelled evil. Then, it focused on her outfit. Particularly the badge.

OKINAWA PREFECTURE POLICE DEPARTMENT NAHA KOSAKAMI NAMI

The angel threw her away, as if he didn't need her anymore. She was hyperventilating, trying to force some air in her lungs. Her eyes stared upwards in absolute shock. Nothing could describe what she just saw. She could only describe what she heard from the angel.

"Thank you, Officer Nami," the angel said, "I'll be sure to tell them about your brave quest of killing an innocent old man."

She struggled to turn her head to the angel to say something, "...y...you...won't...g...get away...w...with this..."

"I don't have to. Matter of fact, I'm coming back with this. All I need to do is show them what they're up against."

"Ggg...why...won't...you...die..."

At this point, the angel reared its ominous tone towards her, "As long as people like you exist in this world...I can never die." And with that, the angel blasted out of the mall and in the direction of the police office.

Nami was stunned. Too stunned to remember she was fighting for her life right now! She was gasping for life, barely holding on by a thread. For all of her luck, everyone was about to die at the hands of a male. A MALE! She'd love to get her revenge, but there's one problem with any future plans for her paying back:

ALL OF THEM HAD THEIR SPINES BROKE! They can't move or walk or use their guns or anything! Not even the doctors could restore their full range of motion! They're all paralyzed! If somebody doesn't get here quick, they're gonna die! At the hands of a male! A MALE! She could only lie in agony and despair as she stared up into the moon, wondering what was happening to the world? The sweet peace that they had worked so hard for years to maintain, shattered in one swift second. Unlike the last incident, however, it will end horribly.

At least that's what she believed. "...help...me..." She cried her last cry as she breathed her last breath.

And that was it. She was gone.


	2. Chapter 2: In Yo Face, Rip-Off Artist!

_Part 2: In Yo Face, Rip-off Artist!_

"What just happened?! Silvia, what just happened?!" Sokoto shouted as they flew across the night sky, "Apparently, I developed feelings for some random dude I met two days ago! Yeah, sure! We had something going between each other! But...REALLY?! REALLY?! Full-on God-of-War mode?! No-ANGEL OF DEATH MODE?! If this is how our future battle are supposed to play out, we might as well, I dunno, PLAY SOME KIND OF TRIUMPHANT RETURN FANFARE TO ANNOUNCE OUR COMING OF THE KING OR SOMETHING!"

Fanfare = song = music. A screen popped up to his right: NO MUSICAL TRACK FOUND.

"Wha-You can play music, too?!" Sokoto had an OCD-impression going on for a few seconds, "Ok. You're officially my new best friend."

...

...What-I-gigi-ack-ta-fal-ta-SHE WAS STRAPPED TO YOUR NECK AND WRIST FOR A WEEK! SHE TRAINED WITH YOU AND PUT UP WITH YOUR COMPLAINING AND MOANING AND WHINING AND GRUMBLING THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE SESSION! HOW DO YOU NOT CALL THAT FRIENDSHIP DEVELOPMENT?!

And, yeah! What did just happen?! A while ago, you totally changed personalities as if you've got the entire skeleton to pick with these femme fatales! Angel of death, indeed! Oh, wait a minute. You're gonna answer to that in a hot second!

"Hey! Is that it?" Sokoto pointed to a bunch of cars that had red and blue siren lights, "Yeah! That's gotta be it! Dismount!" They dove down into a field of trees and reverted back to human-with-color-and-bracelet mode. They headed towards the line of cars to ask the officers there about the location of the old man.

"Whaddaya want, kid? We're busy here," one of them said.

"Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" another said.

"Yeah..." Sokoto was trying to catch his breath, "I know I should, but...I've been having nightmares...about this man right here..." He shoved the photo he managed to salvage from the site in the officers' faces.

"What-get that outta my face!"

"Wait-hang on, lemme see that..." An officer picked up the photo and stared at it for a bit. "Oh, yeah. I recognize these two. You're that kid we're looking for, ain't ya?"

"Seriously?!...Hey, yeah, I remember you! You're that ugly woman dresser kid, ain't ya?!"

"Yeah," Sokoto scratched his head, "And seeing how I'll get arrested either way, I figured I'd better see him off before I stand trial."

"Huh...this is new. A criminal turning himself in, huh?"

"Hey, anything to make my night easier. Alright kid, turn around and put your hands behind your back."

The officers handcuffed him and took him into the station to run him through the usual frisking, prisoner registration, thumb print, blah blah blah. Then, they took him a cell.

"Wait, here. We'll be back with an escort." They locked him up and went back to the clerk, leaving Sokoto and-

Hang on. The bracelet. The collar.

"Where'd they go?" Sokoto was panic-thinking to himself, "I thought you couldn't take them off but-" He touched his wrist and still felt his bracelet. "Oh...Could ya not disappear on me without some kind of signal? Covert ops, I get, but still!" He sat back and silently stared at the blank space in front of him.

Ok...now what? He got in with little to no trouble. He should've been taken deeper into the prison to find out what really happened to the old man. He got a suggestive clue from the mall, but this alone isn't enough to cement his conclusion. He had to 100% every hole in the answer to truly satisfy his curiosity.

As soon as he's finished his 'daydreaming with a purpose', the guards came round. "Ok, kid. We'll show you to that log geezer before we take you to court."

"Fair enough," he got up to prepare to move, "So, where we going?"

"You'll see." And with that, they were off to the back. The back of the department, huh? Well, gee. I wonder what the back the the police department is. The detention center? Maybe the file cabin of the detective office? What about the court yard, where they keep all the-

NOPE! It's a graveyard! Tombstones come standard! Ominous fog and dark trees included just for decoration!

"Whoa," he said out of curiosity (go figure), "What's this place?"

"Well, believe it or not, the whole of Naha was considered sacred, so they asked us to guard this place. This is where everyone who dies has their remains preserved, where their spirits are properly sent to the afterlife."

"Really?! I had no idea there were still some old-fashioned towns in this day and age!" Yeah, with robot suits, digital signposts, and cellphones that can project 3D imagery, it's hard to find a good old organic substance in life. BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING CATERED BY THAT GOOD OLD ORGANIC SUBSTANCE IN LIFE!

"Yeah...means we got the old man down here, too."

"Oh. He really did die." Well, that's that. They did kill him. Who knows why? Who cares why. He heard all he needed to.

"You wanna pay your respects? Now's the time. Go up to the grave and we'll call you when it's time."

Sokoto went up to the grave to honor his fallen comrade. He knelt down to pray for his safe journey into the great beyond. "Oh, ye of great faith. You lived long and well. May you rest in peace...uh..."

ジョセフ·オルコット (Joseph Alcott)

"Huh...such a beautiful name gone to waste-YOW!" Hey, what's going on! Gunshot from behind! He ducked under it and rolled off to take cover behind a tombstone. "Silvia, mind filling me in on what's going on here?!" Oy vey...nope, nope; just let the situation unfold. You'll get your answer that most people would've figured out sooner.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," the officer said in a creepily sweet tone while walking towards Sokoto, "I promise this won't take long." *BANG!*

"Geez..." The bulled chinked the tombstone where Sokoto was hiding, "What are these old hags doing now?..." He didn't have time to think about it, though. The bullets kept chucking and the officers kept taunting.

"You're in big trouble now, little boy," she stopped firing and slowly walked toward the tombstone where he hid.

Ok, he has a few options to escape. But first, he has to get these cuffs off of him. The way he is now, he's as good as an armless zombie awaiting his second premature burial. He can't call Silvia to the rescue like this. Well, fine. He'll just have to use the guards' guns against them. He turned his head to and fro to try and find them. He can't properly see anything in this barren corridor. He has to rely on his senses. He closed his eyes, and breathed.

The guards slowly surrounded him. One of them sneaked up from behind, trying to catch his hair and finish this feud, "Gotcha." She reached down to yank his hair. But he turned around to dodge her hand and bite her arm. His teeth held a tight grip on her arm, nearly biting off her flesh. He used his teeth and the full leverage of the force of his turn to pull her down to the ground, breaking her rib cage on the tombstone, and pinning her throat on his knee. The other guards used the opportunity to shoot at him, but he saw them pop out from cover. He dodged the bullets and ran for the compound. He kept looking behind him to see where they were shooting, and one particular angle caught his keen. An officer was going to shoot his back. Instead, it shot the chain binding his wrists together. Yep, he he positioned his cuffed hands to cross the path of the bullet.

Free at last! He was free at last! He could bail out right now, but he has a few loose ends to tie up. He made like a hardy fool and ran headfirst into the line of fire. The officers kept shooting his body, but they all narrowly missed him! He kept flipping over and running under the projectile paths! Before he was in point-blank range, he swiped a couple pebbles and fired at their guns. Direct hit on the guns, explosions that broke their good hands. In their moment of agonizing recoil, Sokoto hopped right in front of their faces and pummeled them to the ground. Their collapsed bodies were piled on top of each other, eyes of utter anger pointed at the dude that towered over their momentarily paralyzed bodies.

"And that!" He proclaimed, pointing towards the moon in triumph, "Is why NO ONE! May touch! The FEETS!" Settle down, King Julian. You and your royal subjects are still in enemy territory, remember?

Everyone else heard the commotion outside and rushed out to see what was happening. By the time they got there, he had already escaped. The only thing they found were three downed guards, one in critical condition, the rest injured in shambles.

"He got away again?!" The judge bellowed, "Is there anyone good enough to rein in this disease?!" She turned to her assembled forces, "I want a picture of this kid on every single block! Every newscast, every internet site, every radio program, everything! He is now a Wanted Man! Bring him in dead or alive, preferably dead!"

A few minutes later, Sokoto and Silvia found some trees to hide in.

"Hah...hah...hahahah...ahahahaaa!...Hohoho, my god! Was that the best episode of COPS or what?!" First evasion much? Nah, not by a long shot. This guy has quite the criminal history, you see. For all the fighting he's done throughout his life, there has to be a period of accord within each stage. Guess what kind of accord the he was most comfortable with?

Mischief. Yep, he's developed a hot, steaming liking to causing trouble. From pranks to foot chases to ship heists and law claws, there is just no limit to how high he can rack up the notoriety rating. Here's the thing, though. He only targets people ho have done wrong to other people. Pickpocket guy? Dress like an old geezer and give him the scolding of a lifetime. Bullies in the alley? FOOD FIGHT! Officials abusing power? Red tights and a raccoon mask. Robbery nearby? Well, nuts.

He always had a knack of, in his words, "staring trouble in the eye, punching trouble in the face, and roundhouse kicking trouble in the gut so hard that trouble don't wanna come anywhere near me!" He's been doing it for so long that dodging incoming bullets was a skill acquired last year, when he came back to Shanghai, China.

"Whew...that was a really good laugh! Oh, man, I'm hungry. C'mon, let's find someplace to chow!" Quick survey of the environment, "I don't think we'll find anything here, though. Y'know...being wanted, and all..." Just then, a screen surprised his eye peels, straight rom his charm bracelet: SEARCHING FOR RESTAURANTS OUTSIDE OKINAWA PREFECTURE... "Whoa...ok, I can live with this." MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN YORON-CHO, KAGOSHIMA PREFECTURE. "Aw, sweet! How far is that?!" DISTANCE VIA FLIGHT: 120 KM. COMPASS ACTIVE. "Aw, yeah, buddy! Let's head out right now!" He called Silvia to his side. "Ok, Silvia. Everyone here knows who we are. What say we make our mark on this world?" They readied themselves for launch. "TIME OFF!" IB kickoff towards the unknown.

And that was the end of Sokoto's most recent chapter of his memories. He got more than what he bargained for: a new best friend, and a conspiracy theory. Back at the mall, he heard something about men submitting to women as playthings or something. This is not the world he thought he was living in. How did women come to dominate men in such a ruthless demeanor? Was it payback, jealousy, fantasy, what? Well, whatever the answers were, there was no way he was going to find them on an empty stomach. Or the 'z' drowse. "Find a late night meal, nap by the sweet sound of the sea, then unleash our inner Mystery Machine. Sound good?" Sokoto asked Silvia before making a final Ignition Boost towards Yoronjima.

Well, he's going to need all the R&amp;R he can get. And not just because he's a Wanted Man now.

"Ziel bestätigt: männlich Pilot Richtung Yoron Island. Ihre Bestellungen, Kapitän?" (Target confirmed: male pilot heading towards Yoron Island. Your orders, Captain?) Someone radioed from behind a house.

"Lass ihn und zum Nest." (Leave him be and return to the nest.) Captain Bodewig relayed from the Academy's operations room.

"So, you're sure you've found his next destination?" Cecilia asked.

"Richtig. And while the boy was flailing around away from the mainland, my forces have assembled across Japan. We'll be ready to strike whenever the see that yellow saw."

"Thank you, Laura."

"Bitte."

Cecilia went down to her bunker to prepare for their first strike on friendly territory, but when she was about to leave the room-

"You know..." Laura muttered softly, "This was not how I imagined we'd prepare for your initiation. Or coronation."

"...It's alright. Crowns and certificates are...temporal, after all." Cecilia didn't have anything else to say after that. She was so focused on her personal agenda that she didn't make room for any downtime with friends. Everything she did was solely to promote herself in the face of the world. She walked back to her bunker, promising that she'd settle herself, Chelsea, and Laura down with tea and crumpets right after this mission is finished.

Laura turned back to the screen, viewing the footage from Okinawa, her field agent, and the battle against Cecilia. She wore a grave look on her face. She compared and scanned the videos repeatedly. There's no denying it this time. She leaned her head on her hand.

"It was a only a matter of time after all...before the second male pilot emerges from the shadows..." She was reminiscing of her IS training years, at the military school and the IS Academy. "Well...I do hope he can provide proper entertainment this time around." She cleared the screen and switched to her main communication channel.

"Unternehmen 3, Kader 6, ins Spiel. Ziel nähert Ihrer Nähe. Männlich IS Piloten. Blonde Haare, blaue Augen. Finden Sie ihn und nehmen ihn heraus." (Company 3, Squad 6, come in. Target is approaching your area. Male IS pilot. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Find him and take him out.)

"Kopieren." (Copy.) A ten-person team with one IS user was already lying in wait for the renegade to make his appearance. Hiding in the shroud of the bushes.

"Clarissa, was sollen wir tun?" (Clarissa, what should we do?) One teammate was feeling a little nervous.

"Nun, ich glaube, er ist heute schon gekämpft, so dass er für einen Platz zum Ausruhen suchen. Als er Nickerchen, das ist, wenn wir uns treffen." (Well, I imagine he's already fought today, so he's looking for a place to rest. When he naps, that's when we'll strike.) She reassured her team that this mission will be a success. Unlike the renegade, who spent the entire day training, these people just woke up, with fresh minds and bodies.

"Ziel in der Nähe!" (Target in vicinity!)

"Gute. Denken Sie daran, nur Angriff, wenn er schläft." (Good. Remember, attack only when he's sleeping.)

Finally, the renegade has crossed their sight.

"Go!" The troops headed out into the night, swift like the wind, unseen among the shadows. The second battle was about to begin.


	3. Chapter 3: Stop Doing This To Me!

_Part 3: Why Do They Keep Doing This To Me?!_

Sokoto just finished his late-night dinner, "*BUUUURP!* OOOOOH, THAT WAS SO GOOOOOD!" Yes, he had earned the right to belch like a bullfrog. After discovering the answers to who killed the old man, he felt the need to broadcast his well-deserved satisfaction of a hard day's work to the rest of the world. Not two minutes after they left did they find a nice patch of grass to rest for the night. Right beside the dang restaurant. "Okay, I'm pooped. Let's get some shut eye and figure out what the heck I'm gonna do tomorrow. Wup-BAH!" He plopped himself right by the tree. "Ahhhhhhh...Huh..." Well, normally, this would be point where he falls asleep right away, but the past few hours have really eaten away at his mind. No sequence of events has ever boggled his mind like tonight.

For some reason, all the women he encountered seem quite uneasy to hang around men. Even less so when it came to young scampers like him. Well, that last part was a given, but when did the scale between peace and chaos import a two-million ton weight that made the scale slam the chaos side down to the ground, destroying the scale in the process? He literally doesn't know. He stared at the starlit sky, trying to connect the stars in the same manner he's trying to piece together the reasons behind the events of the day. Wow, that's a record. The mall security he so clearly ex'd literally told him that they done away with the old guy and why they did it, and the officers literally have his body shamefully buried while they were showing their true colors; and yet, he still can't process this information through his brain.

"Hey, Silvia?" Sokoto conversed his way into dreamland, "When did everybody start to fight each other like cats and dogs? I remembered a time when we held hands and skipped down the sidewalk in harmony. Skip rocks and shoot breezes all across the park like there ain't no tomorrow. Now, it's just war after war after war...I mean...*YAWN*...It's all...so...petty..." And that's it. He was fast asleep, sent to Dreamville once more.

Sleeping under a tree on a nice, soft lawn. Just like when he was 8. The night was warm, the wind was just right, and the life was still. The difference was instead of sleeping soundly like a baby bengal,he wasn't sleeping at all. He was shivering in pain, covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. Yet, he still crawled forward, repeatedly stumbling as he desperately exerted all his might to unsuccessfully stand himself on his feet.

A little girl was on top of him, shaking him, trying to keep him in this world for as long as possible. She pleaded with her life that someone would save him, but all the tears in the world can't stop the inevitable. Or at least, that's what she believed.

Within the unconscious of Sokoto's brain lie inhuman determination. Something was keeping him alive, despite going through Death's door. It was telling him, "Not here. You're not finished yet. Someone needs you now." Like an adult bengal escaping the captivity of the poachers, he mustered up enough strength to utterly destroy Death's door and return to life. He was gasping for air. He clutched his ribs. Yet there he was, on his own two feet, still ready to fight, eyes of contempt glaring right at the man behind this attack.

The man was outraged. That kid should've died. He should've been finished! Why isn't he dead?! The man couldn't take it anymore. He charged at Sokoto with all his fury. He stabbed his knife at Sokoto's heart, this time making certain he will fall.

It failed. The knife was caught before it could kill. It was swiped from the man and transferred to Sokoto's hand. The man lost his balance and collided straight onto the girl. The man tried to pin her down, hoping to finish the job. But it wasn't meant to be. His neck was pierced through the vertebra. Blood slowly dripped from his neck. When the knife was forcibly removed, blood spewed profusely from his head. He went down once and for all. Sokoto and the girl could only look down on him with vain as he muttered,

"Wh...why...won't...you...j-just...f-f-f-f******...die..."

"As long...as people like you...still exist...in this world...I...I can never die..."

Those were the last words the man heard from that wee lad as his eyes were widened in horror. To think that someone as young as he was could be capable of something like this...He took those thoughts to the grave as his heart finally shut down.

The girl looked around her. Four burly wicked men taken down by a scrawny little kid. She clutched Sokoto's hand tightly in a failed attempt to comfort herself. He pricked her hand with the knife, forcing her to withdraw in pain, "Ouch! What the hell was that for?!"

"Get out of my sight."

"Wait, just let me take-"

He still had enough energy to elbow her in the stomach. The impact shocked her entire body into submission. She groaned as she fell to her knees, gripping her stomach while wheeling herself for any breaths she can manage.

"This is why I hate women. They never know when to shut up." He said as he limped away from the battlefield. He was battered, beaten up, but he forces his hands into tight fists away from his wounds. He looked to the moon proudly as he continued his walk of glory towards the unknown.

"...mmm...nnn-AAAhhhhhhhh..." Sokoto stretched himself to wake up from-

"Huh?" Hang on. Something's up. Hey! His hands and feet got tied down to something! Nope, the were encased in metal restraints! On some sort of square platform...

"Ok. What's going on. Is this some kind of sacrificial ritual?!"

"Shut up." A German woman with an eyepatch and blue hair smacked him across the mouth.

"PLABPTPPT-What the hell was that for?!" Smack. "Ack! Stop doing that!" Smack. "OW! Why I oughta-" Smack.

"Ohohoho, I am going to enjoy this so much."

"Enjoy what-" Smack-oh, hold on. He bit her hand.

"Aaagh! Let go, Drecksau!"

"MMMMMMM!" (You let go!)

"Insolent wench." Her free hand suddenly materialized a giant metal arm, "I'll have to discipline you SO!" PUNCH. To the face. He finally let go.

"Lieutenant Clarissa," A German serviceman approached her, "We need him alive."

"I am aware of that. Prepare for transport under heavy security."

"Aw, sending your grunts to do the heavy lifting for you?" Sokoto taunted like no tomorrow (due to the possibility of there being literally no tomorrow for him).

"You will not insult our commanding officer, you-"

"It's fine, Egon. We'll have him out of here soon enough." She dismissed him back to the boat, "Everyone, load up and move out!"

All ignoring Sokoto's ramble, "Yep, yep. This is a ritual. I'm a sacrifice, alright. PAGAN! PAGAN WOMAN! PAGAN WOMAN!"

"WILL YOU CEASE AND DESIST?!"

En route to wherever they were going via transport boat...

"Captain Laura," Clarissa opened a channel to the IS Academy, "I have the renegade pilot en route to the nest."

"Good. Take him to the laboratory and have him analyzed."

"Jawohl." She disconnected the transmission, just in time for-

"You know, they oughta rename you 'Lieutennant Clearly Learned Asinine Impudence Sucked So Adversely'," more of Sokoto's banter, "Tell me, are weak-minded pimp slaps the norm in Germany?"

"And just what are you trying to imply, you filthy rag?"

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering why someone as sloppy as that set of unpolished Barbie reject would come all the way out here."

"Well," Clarissa turned around to face her cocky captive, "The reason why I would tolerate your insults is yourself. You are far too simple-minded to be allowed to run freely among the civilian population. That is why we of the Schwarzer Hase have come to subdue you before you cause too much chaos."

"Aha! You ARE trying to kill me! PAGAN! PAGAN WOMAN! PAGAN WOMAN!" One of her nerves snapped. Luckily, somebody taped his mouth shut.

"Ugh, about time!" Well, everyone returned back to their own business. Except Sokoto, who was as equally annoyed that the can't annoy them anymore.

'Geez, and you can't come down here to help me either!' And he was hatching a plan right under their noses! 'Ok...Just gotta roll with it. We'll have to improvise an escape route once we get there.'

Five minutes later, they were approaching their destination. It looked like a futuristic colony from Sokoto's viewpoint, but it was really the IS Academy. Shining in all its grandeur from under the sun, it could make any institution close down in shame. But that wasn't why they were here. A hidden door on the side of the cliff opened up to a secret tunnel. One by one, lights would shutter on, showing the squad where to go. When they finally reached to dock, another squad was there to greet them and transport the captive to the next corridor. They didn't release the restraints on Sokoto. Instead, they heaved that giant metal block onto a hover cart and shuttled their way to the 'lab'.

'Oh, boy' Sokoto's head was sent ablazing once again, 'I didn't think for one second that I'd be chosen as a sacrifice for a cult ceremony! Ok, find a way out, find a way out, find a way out-'

"Shall we remove his collar to prevent any obstructions to this operation?" An officer asked Clarissa, who took one look at Sokoto and popped her vein.

"After we show him just how 'pagan' we can be." She led them to a dark room with hanging wires and station computers surrounding a metal pedestal. Do I smell an offering to the God of Technology?

'HOLY CHEESE BALLS!' Sokoto practically wet himself, 'I KNEW IT! PAGAN! PAGAN WOMAN! PAGAN WOMAN! Ok...whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo-'

"Set him up," Clarissa commanded, "We're going to run the analysis before we proceed with the next phase."

'Next phase?!' Sokoto was panicking badly, 'What, injecting me with gamma rays wasn't enough?! Now, you wanna vacuum my blood outta me to feed it to the Goddess?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Emphasis on HELL!'

Actually, they just wanted to find out why he can activate an IS. And what better way to do it than strap wires to his body while he's pinned down on top of the sacred metal rock. Oh, yeah. Way to play up the act, Clarissa. VERY assuring.

'Ok, ok, ok,' Sokoto reverted to his desperate quick-think mode, 'The P.D.'s not working, my hands are sweating, and those wires are definitely giving me the unholy juice! All that's missing is a rambling woman to lead us into the ritual-'

Speak of the devil! Here come some more women reading some things off of these futuristic tablets!

'Well, roast me over a piping hot cauldron!' This amazed him so much that he actually calmed himself down, 'They actually got the works! Ok, I gotta trick them into taking off my collar. That'll trigger Silvia's return.'

The door then swung open to reveal a tall, slender woman in a business-type uniform, "Clarissa. Is the kid tied down properly?"

"Jawohl, Instructor Orimura."

"Good." The woman turned a quick eye back at Sokoto, "Let's run a full MRI scan on him before we proceed with the body scan."

All of a sudden, Sokoto felt like he was at the center of an earthquake. The platform he was strapped to moved into a tunnel of sorts. It looked like the machines used for medical diagnosis, but isn't this one a little too big? For all its looks and sizes, one can easily confuse it for-

'I'M DEAD! I'M DEAD! I'M SO DEAD!' a furnace from which the Goddes will arise to accept the sacrifice, 'WHAT KIND OF CULT PLACE DID I LAND IN?! ARE THERE MORE PLACES LIKE THIS?!' While Sokoto awaited his last moment on Earth inside his mind, the others in the lab were checking in on his body systems, brain activity, and psychological composition. Everything was running smoothly, except the from the neck upwards were somewhat distorted.

"Orimura-sensei, the head's not giving us a full scan."

"Hmm...it must be the collar. Somebody get that collar off of him."

Someone walked up to him from behind the monitors to take off his collar.

'Ok,' Sokoto spotted a woman coming, 'One of them is making me drink some weird bette juice! What am I gonna do now?! Hey, what's she doing?' He saw her trying to grab his collar, 'Ok, Silvia! Get ready to time off!'

The woman stared at him condescendingly before stripping him of his collar. But the second she got the collar off, it ripped itself off of her hand and attracted itself to his left wrist with brutal force. It phased through his restraints and found its way to his bracelet, enveloping him in a rainbow-aura glow.

"What's going on?!" Orimura yelled.

"My apologies, Instructor. The boy's collar just-"

*BAM!*

Sokoto and Silvia broke free of their restraints, "PAGANS! PAGANS! ALL OF YOU, PAGANS!" They IB'd out of the lab before anyone could fully understand what just happened. But, luckily, that didn't matter. They had to get their test subject back and the 'renegades' had to escape techno Pankot Palace Dungeon'.

"What the hell is that kid blabbing about?" Orimura commented before launching the school intercom, "Attention, all units! Test subject has escaped the lab! Mobilize and recapture immediately!" The entire Academy flashed RED ALERT nonstop. All available staff suited up in standard issue ISs to go after Sokoto.

Who is having trouble squeezing through the underground cavern's tight corridors, "Ow! Agh! Hey! This is way too soon for a deja vu attack! Just get us outta here and stop slamming into INCOMING 2 O'CLOCK!" The instructors caught up with them. But it didn't take too long to make short work of the whacks, even in situations where they cornered them. It didn't take them too long for them to find the exit, "There it is! Ok, fire that weird grapple laser thingy!" Within a few seconds, they were out of the island's reach, "Hahaha! So long sucka-"

They suddenly froze. No abnormalities, no emotional disturbances, just suspended animation. "What?! Uhh...Can't...move...who..."

"Such a waste, wouldn't you say?"

German accent, low pitch, sweet tone, soft volume. All ingredients for a creepy thriller. Sokoto peeked under his armpit to meet his 'would-be psycho-killer'.

It was a young woman, long silver hair, a red eye and a yellow eye. Her robot suit was a black IS, with what looks like two all-seeing eyes. She wore a menacing look on her face as she held her palm out at him, shining a glimmering barrier, "I thought you could stay and keep us company for a little while longer."

"Gggg..." Sokoto was just about to wet his pants when a giant rocket bombed him from above, breaking him out of the barrier and plummeting him to the ocean surface. He recovered just in time to see who cracked at him. And it was a very familiar face.

"Yes," the blonde British woman leered at Sokoto as he stared back at her in shock, "We would very much appreciate your company for our tea party."

"Oh, man," Sokoto whispered, "What could be worse than that?..."

Well, how about two more warriors joining the brawl? One of them is a little older than the blonde woman in a fencing-style IS, the other is...the blue-haired girl he so royally irritated, suited in something similar to the silver-haired woman.

"Oh my god!" Sokoto let out one last insult at the blue-haired woman, "PAGAN! PAGAN WOMAN! PAGAN WOMAN!"

"SHUT UP!" She fired a whopping laser at him, which he easily sidestepped.

"Calm yourself, Clarissa," the silver-haired woman said to her, "We need no words to subdue him."

"Yes, Captain Laura," Clarissa responded, "I had all but forgotten."

"Well, now that everyone's here," the blonde woman declared battle, "What say we start the ballet, Chelsea?"

"Shall I begin the symphony, then?" The fencing woman-uh ,Chelsea took the front line and prepped her sword for battle. Laura and Clarissa took her right and left flank. Cecilia hovered upward and aimed her rifle at Sokoto.

"Well, Silvia," Sokoto grinned an evil grin, "Looks like we have a Temple of Doom rip-off to contend with. Whaddaya say we whip out one last lasso for tonight?"

Well, it's the first mega match-up of the century: Sokoto vs. Cecilia/Chelsea/Clarissa/Laura. Don't all run each other over to see this ting first-hand.


	4. Chapter 4: The Crucible Backfires

_Part 4: The Crucible Has Backfired_

"Alcott, Bodewig, Harfouch, and Blackett are engaging the renegade," Orimura was monitoring the ensuing fight from within the Academy's operations room, "Yamada, is anyone else online?"

"No, ma'am," a green-haired woman with glasses said, "Those are the only four we could manage to contact without attracting any necessary attention. All available staff at the Academy are currently on standby."

"And Tabane's no help unless she can fly, basically," Well, Orimura was a little bit relieved when she said that.

"Shall I call for back up, 'Chi-chan'?!" Playful attitude-

"Shut it." Wow.

"Ok..." Yamada was disappointed, but she refocused on the task at hand, "Everyone, be careful. Based on the footage we've seen, this guy has incredible sensory information processing. You'll need to scatter your shots and trap him into a false sense of security to catch him off guard."

"Roger," Chelsea said before shutting off all non-battle communication channels, "Well then, little man. Shall we get started?"

"You don't even have to ask," Sokoto fired his laser straight at them, charging into them head first.

"Is he an idiot?" Laura and Clarissa aimed their palms at the flying idiot and activated their barriers. The first barrier stopped the laser. The second stopped him entirely.

"Hey!" Sokoto did a double-take, "How come I could-BLAAAGH!" Pass through one barrier even though it could stop a deadly laser? Move your head even though you should've been frozen? Keep on blabbing even though you should've braced your self for the impact of salt water in your booger holes?

"Did any of you catch that?..." Cecilia caught wind of what he just said.

"He's onto us!" Clarissa shouted, "Captain!"

"You cover Blackett," Laura mapped the battle plans, "I'll cover Alcott. Mark simultaneous defense and offense! Give him all hell and no quarter!" She moved to Cecilia's side as they both rushed towards Sokoto. Clarissa blankly blinked at Chelsea, who simply nodded her head. Clarissa took the rear, and Chelsea led the duo into the frenzy.

Sokoto fired his shot at Laura, but she deflected it with a beam saber. The impact sent him flying towards her. She readied her saber, but he missed her and headed straight into Cecilia's barrage. One of the shots hit the hook.

"Oh, not this time!" Sokoto murmured, "You're not gonna infect me again!" He yanked the chain, breaking it and turning the hook into a Homing Boomerang Missile. Cecilia's drones repeatedly fired at Sokoto as they tried to ram into him. He dodged them with ease, or would've if not for Laura's unusually giant railgun and Cecilia's rapid-fire rifle. Sokoto was flipping over his spine trying to not get hit. He was so focused on the bullets that sometimes he wouldn't be able to notice the stabbing of Chelsea's sabre or the strikes of Clarissa's twin daggers. "This is nuts! Where's that hook-frisbee thingy?!" Sokoto glanced back, but he can't find his laser hook. A monitor flashed on his window: GRAPPLING LASER READY. "Oh...they froze it-OOF!"

Oh, that moment of diversion. You literally let a bullet fry your butt off and you mistook it for that 1000 Years of Death. Unlike that ninja technique, however, this version has twice the power, but NONE of the knock-back. He just staggered. And that was the end of the first round.

"Well, for his first time, his reflexes weren't horrible," Chelsea commented.

"Oh, please," Clarissa scoffed, "I've seen dorftrotteln more capable than him."

"Can we please just round him up now?!" Cecilia's still blushing from their last encounter.

"Clarissa," Laura rallied for another fight, "Behind me."

Sokoto splashed down below the surface. The other girls approached the splash zone with caution. They were anticipating another foolish head-on attack. Sure enough, another laser shot out of the ocean. Clarissa and Laura launched their barriers at the laser. Sokoto popped up momentarily. The only difference this time was instead of running into the barriers like an idiot, he flung himself into them like a dumb-ass, which is a coupe scale numbers below an idiot. Using the jerk of the laser hook's pull, he rocketed towards the first barrier. He placed his free hand below is waist-

*RIP!*

...and took some of Laura's hair with him.

Sokoto remembered from his one-week school session that the Absolute Defense will not activate if the incoming attack was NOT life-threatening. And having your hair yanked very hard and ripped from your very sensitive scalp is NOT life-threatening. Blood-chillingly painful, yes, but NOT life-threatening.

"AAAAAAAAUUGH!"

And apparently attention-nabbing as well.

"Captain! NO!" Clarissa took her eyes off of Sokoto, and that split-second gave him the edge. The barrier shut off, and he stuffed Clarissa's mouth with a metal knuckle sandwich. Chelsea and Cecilia tried to pry him off, but he clung to Clarissa like a sticker to a wanderer in the weed field.

"GET OFF ME!" Every time Clarissa tried to shake him off, he always found a new weakspot to start bashing on. The other three tried a unison attack on him.

"Blast him off!" Cecilia fired a missile barrage while Chelsea charged from the side.

"Eh?" Sokoto stopped for a moment. Two minions from behind. Two warriors from the side. One ranger from above. And then, there's this pagan. Clarissa finally kicked him off and unleashed a string of tentacle-like projectiles at him.

"Oh my god!" He screamed as he was scrambling to dodge them, "SHE'S UPGRADED FROM PAGAN WOMAN TO CTHULU'S BRIDE!"

"ENOUGH! WITH! THE! PAGAAAAAAAAN!" Wow. Wire daggers AND rockets. What more proof do you need!

Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough. Sokoto actually grabbed one of the wires and yanked it, forcing a recoil. It retracted back to her, with his flying fist of fury awaiting. Well, it paid off. She tried to slice him up with her blade, but he easily caught it and landed a harsh roundhouse. And that missile barrage nearly hit him, but he swung her around. So guess who took one for the team!

Laura caught wind of what just transpired, "You've made your last joke!" She recovered enough of her sanity to send wire daggers ablazing towards the kerfuffle.

"Holy guacamole! Silvia, reflex hyperdrive!" Oh, come on! You're the one doing all the work! He back himself into a missile and used the impact to rotate his body and, get this, squeeze himself within the wires! Yeah, the classic sea anemone trick! And no one thought it was practical!

"Laura! Incoming!" Chelsea latched onto one of the wires and allowed it to lure them in.

"Oh! You too, huh!" Sokoto couldn't resist.

"Come on, then!" Laura signaled the unison attack. Keep in mind: all of the following happened in a few seconds.

Sokoto fired his laser straight at Laura, prompting her to activate her barrier. The laser-hook was blocked, but there's still the matter of the human bullet himself. Clarissa snuck in him from the side and tried to freeze him, but he yanked one of the 'tentacles' and flung it at her, which took the place of her intended target. Chelsea dove straight into him and scuffled with him for a bit.

"Just a little more!" Sokoto said to himself.

"Aren't you forgetting?" Cecilia let loose her drone bombardment on him.

"Holy..." Uh...oops? She disappeared off his radar because he focused on the others. Not really the best thing to happen when you have three other blood-thirsty demons on your tail, now is it?!

Actually, he took the brunt of one of Chelsea's sword thrusts, and gripped it in him hard so that the sword and her hand were stuck to him, making sure she wouldn't get away when the blasts hit.

"There's more than one!" Laura and Clarissa revealed their railguns and fired at point-blank range. Sokoto was completely stuck, now. There's the blade woman who he's trying to pin down, and three more nutcases firing one hell of an energy blast combination.

"Release me this instant!" Chelsea kept yanking away from him. Instead, she got-

"If you insist!" -an arm yanking and a face full of energy!

"Rrgh!" Cecilia saw for a split second, "How did he get away?!"

"Exactly how I got away last time," Sokoto's voice jolted Cecilia from behind.

"Hey! Where'd he go?!" Clarissa frantically turned her head to find him.

"Behind you!" Chelsea grabbed Clarissa and pulled her from the collision of the blue human projectile. Laura caught her, but they both took another one of his kicks.

"Damned little brat..." Orimura clenched her teeth in rage at the live screening of the battle. "A puny weasel giving our elite a run for their money..."

"We have to get Tabane in their, Orimura-sensei!" Yamada pled for the master to call the master's master to battle, "It's our only shot at taking him down now!"

"Are you crazy?!" She couldn't believe what her hears bore hearing to, "If anything, she'll botch up the secrecy of secrecy even more than she already has!"

"But at this rate, the others will sink to the bottom of the sea before they can scratch him!"

"Orimua!" Chelsea called from the communication channel, "We can't take this kid any longer-OOF!"

"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, MAID OF VOYAGE!" Chelsea was interrupted by one of his classic kick-punch rockets.

"Why you bratty-Huh?!" CRESCENDO: SHIELD DEPLETED. Communications were cut off due to a certain laser hook disabling all functionality.

"Chelsea! NO!" Cecilia charged headfirst at him, firing her sniper with Laura firing her wire daggers as cover.

"Well, ain't that just the needle to the eyeball," Sokoto held position to wait for the drones and the other warriors to bomb-rush him. Now, he had to match his timing with the approach of the other trigger-happy robot to the incoming stampede, and all will be well in the world. He sensed an angry aura behind him. It can't be...

He swiftly turned behind him and shouted, "PAGAN CTHULU WOMAN!"

"I! AM! NOT! A SLIMY! PAGAAAAAAN!" That did it. She was about to use her barrier to freeze Sokoto in his place, but he reminded her of just how much of a pagan she was. By snapping out of her calculated mindset and sending her into a rampage and trapping her in a face full of energy.

"Perfect timing!" Weill, it would've been, if it weren't for one fatal flaw, "Whoa-hey! Ggh-tentacle monster, release me from your suction cave at once!"

YOU LET THE GIRL WITH THE WEIRD COWLICK AND THE RED FOREHEAD OFF OF YOUR RADAR! Well, thanks for playing! Now, enjoy your punishment! (_Seriously, you look at her picture and tell me that doesn't look like a cowlick gone drunk!_)

Laura finally got him in his grasp. Her wire daggers yanked him in, and she followed with a combination sword-dagger blast.

"Cecilia, finish him!" She held him in place.

"I'm all over it!" And out comes the bullet storm!

"Ggg...can't run-" No, you can't. Not this time!

*BLAMMO!* A full-on assault from the remaining two combatants!

"AAAAAGH!" The impact nearly knocked him unconscious, but his left arm swung out just in time. The laser hook yanked him out of the smoke, "No! Get me back over there!" Somehow, he was able to guild the laser back to Cecilia. He tried to attack, but she easily avoided his hook and blasted his side.

"Looks like Alcott and Bodewig have finally caught the reins on him," Yamada commented.

"About time, too," Orimura grunted before entering the campus-wide communication channel, "All available units, retrieve Harfouch and Blackett. All standby units, assist Alcott and Bodewig and make sure that kid never sees another IS again."

Uh-oh.

"Ggg...I'm in a tight spot here..." Sokoto continued to bob and weave, but the two pilots just kept coming at him.

"Just give up already!" Laura bellowed while letting loose the craziest railgun assault yet.

"What, and miss all the fun?! Hell, no!" Sokoto's brain was in hyperdrive now. His shield's not regenerating fast enough. There's more mooks coming up from below. He has to think of something fast, otherwise he'll end up in a steaming hot pile of rust.

"Then, let's give him all the fun he can take!" Cecilia detached her drones again as she charged ahead.

'Ok,' Sokoto thought to himself, 'Two balance-type engaging, and five melee and blast type each emerging...That's it!'

Sokoto fired his laser at Laura, completely ignoring the charging Cecilia in front of him. But she didn't. She saw him dodge and block all of her shots, only to be guided in perfect position to launch a counterattack.

"Dammit! Laura!"

"I'm ready," Laura was ready for the same tired trick. Sokoto's laser shot towards her, which she stopped with her barrier. But her other hand had a beam sword waiting for him. The instant he crosses her path, the sword slashes him in two. Everything did go according to plan, actually. The barrier stopped the laser, and he dove right into her blade-

Hang on a minute. He MEANT to take that blow?! Seriously, he didn't get sliced, but he let her nick his side, then grabbed her arm!

"What the-" Laura couldn't believe her eyes. Everything happened so fast, but he caught onto her strategy so flawlessly that he'd have to be some sort of genetically enhanced fighter. Even more so if she felt those kicks. Luckily, Cecilia reached them in time to break up the situation and fire a huge rocket at him. It was a direct hit to his back.

"Augh!" Sokoto immediately stopped and hurled toward the ground.

"Begone, scheisskopf!" Laura screamed as she flung her railgun shot and wire daggers at him, exploding his face for the last time. At the end of it, she was panting heavily. Never since her years training at the German compound or the IS Academy has she ever been this infuriated. And this was just one annoying little insect, not five thousand nuclear missiles! What the hell?!

"Um...Laura?" Cecilia tried to pamper her, "That was a bit brash..."

"It had to be done..." Laura was steadily tempering her rage, "He's insulted the Schwarzer Hase long enough...*sigh*...He has paid for his crimes."

"Yes, quite...Now, we can collect the boy and experiment on-"

"ALCOTT! BODEWIG!" Loud voice through the communication channel, "GET DOWN HERE AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS CRAZY NUTJOB!"

"Agh!" Laura's head was still reeling from the sudden haircut, "Mentor?...What is-"

"THIS DAMN KID! HE'S GONNA-" Go to static.

"Mentor? Mentor! Clarissa, do you copy?!" Laura grew worried.

"Miss Yamada! Chelsea! Come in! What's happening?!" Cecilia can't contact anyone on the ground. That could only mean-

*BOOM!*

They saw it. The main communications tower toppled down, and destroyed one of the Academy's residence halls. All because of a stray missile that one of the soldiers shot while trying to hold someone down.

"Oh, no..." Cecilia groaned as she and Laura slowly caught on to what actually happened, "You mean that last scuffle was..."

"...just an artifice." Laura sadly agreed.

Sokoto's real aim was to strike the Academy. The four witches that summoned him were mere pawns.

_Dear GOD, how long did that take?! Ok, since this is in the duration of a school semester, I am gonna try to pace myself this time. At least 200 words added every day, one new addition every week. How's that sound?_

_Also, seriously! Look at Laura's hair! That one __shlick of hair!_


	5. Chapter 5: Snap Back to Reality

_Part 5: A Snap Back to Reality_

"ALL UNITS TO SECONDARY DEFENSIVE POSITIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

The IS Academy was under attack! The main communications tower cowered under the might of the renegade pilot, taking one of the residence halls with it! Everyone that was inside was forced to scramble out into the open, some of those people not making it out alive!

'Ok,' Sokoto thought to himself, 'Force them to shift their attention to rescue the others, then flee the scene.' He kept dodging the bullets and diverting direct attacks, making the officials think that he's too fast for them to hit, but in actuallity, he's making them destroy their own stronghold. 'Come on, ya trigger happy havocs! Try and hack something other than your mystical ritual ruins!'

"What are you doing?! Stop!" Laura screamed as she and Cecilia tried to rush towards Sokoto.

'Heheh, that's right. Chase the mice, little felines,' Sokoto thought, but actually said, "And give you guys another chance to kill me? What do you think?!" He IB'd straight into a building.

"NO!" Cecilia couldn't stop him in time. She sent her drones after her, hoping that the tight spaces would topple him off balance and cause him to crash. "Laura, what are we going to do?!"

"I don't know!" Laura answered frantically, "I'll have to evacuate everyone in the research center! The Valkyrie Armor won't hold out for long against him!" Suddenly, her channel was opened to Clarissa.

"Commander! Are you alright?!" Clarissa communicated to Laura.

"I'm fine! Do you have a pinpoint on the renegade?!"

"Corridor connecting Arena 2 and west wing! En route to the IS development area!"

"You have to get everyone out, now! Do not engage!"

"Commander?"

"Trust me. It's better if we withdraw for the time being."

"...ok," Clarissa sheepishly called back. Communications cut.

"Um...may I ask why you diverted your focus away from the fight?" Cecilia asked while trying to deliver everyone to safety.

"Cecilia! We have a situation!" Chelsea emerged from the wreck with wounded faulty members.

"What's wrong, Chelsea?!" Cecilia gave her a hand in finding more injured.

"The renegade! He's smashed Tabane's room!"

"WHO?!" Oh, Criminy Jickets. Not her again.

"That damn idiot!" Orimura slammed her fists down on the counter, "How far is he willing to go?!"

"Arena 2 locker room is now in shambles as well!" Yamada kept her eyes on the situation via hidden camera system, "4 more wounded! Orimura sensei, we have to call in Tabane!"

"You really expect me to call in that blabbering idiot at a time like this?!" *BAM!* Uh, yeah. I mean, he did just crash through that wall behind you.

"Woo-hoo! How you like dem apples?!" Sokoto screamed as he twirled in the air and posed like a ballerina.

"You!" Orimura angrily yelled, "Do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

"Yeah, I do!" Sokoto jeered, pointing his finger at Orimura, "I've just pissed off the Wicked Witch of the East, the worst demon of them ALLLLLLLLLL~~~~!" He continued his insult streak as he IB'd out of that room. Yamada and Orimura just stood there, awestruck from that brief exchange of words. Yamada slowly turned her head and witnessed all the damage he'd done. The room was basically blown wide open. At least that kid didn't hurt anyone in here, but he did destroy the most crucial systems from that one wall.

"Wow..." Yamada whispered to her self, "I can't believe he did all this in just one-EEP!"

Wait, never mind! He did hurt someone!

"...Maaaayaaaa..." An ominous voice echoed throughout the room.

"It's true..." Yamada whimpered in total fear, "She is a demon..." She saw an evil aura radiate from Orimura's body. Her hair seems to flare upward in response to her rising anger. A few seconds later, she finally evolved.

"GET TABANE DOWN HERE AND TELL HER TO PERSONALLY RIP HIS HEART OUT OF HIS ASS AND STUFF IT BACK DOWN HIS THROAT!"

"ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND?!"

Sokoto thrashed his way across the campus. By the end of his brief excursion, he'd blasted his way to the top of the main tower and blew a new skylight into it.

"Ok," he said with confidence, "I think we've done enough damage for one day. Time to bail!" He was just about to IB back onto the mainland, but-

"Ugh! Hey! What's going on?!" Sokoto was frozen solid! What gives?! He was in midair! There's no one around him! "Who could-ugh...can't move..."

"So, you're that jokester who's been set free from the asylum, aren't ya?" Someone called out to him from the loudspeaker.

"Who's there?! Show yours-ay, me..." This is way different from that silver-haired girl's barrier; at least he could turn his head! Here? He's a floating statue just waiting to be pooped on!

"Okie-dokie! If you say so!" *BOOM*

"What...was...that?..." Sokoto heard something blast out of the tower he was just in. He struggled with all his might to turn his head to face his soon-to-be-opponent, but he was too late. Something-someONE latched onto his backside and plopped its head right in from of his!

"Well, hello, handsome."

"Gyaahh...Whaddaya doing up here?!" Sokoto was flustered. She looks like a grown woman, but she acts like a perky little girl! Pink-ish hair, purple eyes-wait, why's she got rabbit ears on?! And what the hell's cushioning his hair right now?!

And the craziest part? All she did was gently poke his nose. All flight functions disabled. They plummeted down to the ground. HARD. Like, earthquake hard, right beside the base of the tower, the shockwave causing the tower to finally crumble and puncture large holes in two more buildings.

Upon impact, Silvia and Sokoto regained mobility, but the flight functions are still offline. They were a little dazed by that hit, but they managed to recover just fine. But they saw the weird woman falling while screaming in delight and plop herself in his arms! What a lucky duck you are, Soki!

"Yeech!" Or would be had he not dropped her and tried to knee her after a one second eye-lock. Keyword being try. Because as soon as he let go of her, she twirled on her side and easily contorted her body to evade the knee and the leg! She propelled herself a few feet away from him and prepped to launch a full-on assault.

"How did she?..." Sokoto was amazed. He couldn't follow any of that at all. She was incredibly fast for someone so frail. Oh, wait- "OOG!" Frail? Right, not with that stomach-piercing punch!

"Don't you take your eyes off me, now!" The woman lunged into the punch and roundhouse kicked his head, knocking him into the rubble. After she recovered, she triumphantly proclaimed, "Ha ha haaa! No one can stand before Tabane the Fighting Genius!"

While she was saying her catchphrase of the day, a hook suddenly shot out of the spot where Sokoto and Silvia wrecked. Table clenched her fist and easily swatted it away. That contact prompted an immediate reeling in. Sokoto and Silvia IB'd towards her, preparing for a spin kick. But instead of evading, she blocked it. With her elbow. From that point, they traded blows, blocks, and kicks with each other, spazzing out all over the place while they were trying to pin each other down. Funny thing is, Sokoto's in a machine. Tabane's fighting in a frilly dress. And yet, the slender rabbit in friggin' high heels is faring better than the mechanized maniac! There were even moments where she circled around him and decked him in the head or ribs!

After three full minutes of fruitless attacks (Boy-toy much, Tabane?), Sokoto kicked himself back and blasted her with the laser hook. But she simply sidestepped away from it an flung herself at him. Somehow, he noticed her advancing towards his blind spot unusually swiftly. He kicked his foot to the side as hard as he could, but he knew that would be easy to avoid. So he raised his leg to match her waist. No dice. She simply vaulted over the kick and landed an upside-dowm butterfly kick on his head! She didn't ht him hard enough to knock Sokoto unconscious, but it was enough to bring him down for the count.

"Ha ha ha! Tough luck for ya, you can't nab this bunny!" Tabane once again triumphantly proclaimed, towering over him this time.

"Ugh..." Sokoto struggled to recover from the kick, "Where did that come from?..."

"Oh, did you like that?" Tabane sat on him, "It's a new style I developed after watching your smooth moves."

"Guh!" What the heck?! It shouldn't be hurting this much! It was just a kick to the head! "Hey! Silvia! What's going on?!"

"Ah ah ah." Tabane slammed his neck down to the ground and held it there!

"AGH!" Sokoto was feeling a massive surge of pain throughout his spine. Despite the face that he's fighting in IS mode, he can't seem to shake her off. Was she always this strong? "What...what are you doing?!"

"Just making sure you don't spring off into the unknown." At that point, she slid her index finger down his back. not only did she creep him out even more, for every millimeter she slid down his back, a function of the Silver Streamline shuts off. When she finally got to poking his butt, the Silver Streamline was completely disabled.

"Why you lousy-huh?! Hey, Silvia! Silvia, talk to me! Silvia!" Sokoto tried to get his IS to respond, but it was futile. Every single part of the Silver Streamline was turned off, including the PICs. He's trapped under the weight of his own IS. "Uh! What did you do to me?!"

"Why does it matter to you?" Tabane said while she yanked his hair, dragging his head up from under the dirt, making him scream in pain, "When you've been ramming yourself into walls and bombs, why bother caring about yourself?" She yanked his hair even harder, "You're just like all the other maggots I see roaming the streets, always butting into rooms that should be left private, but you couldn't resist making public."

"AGH...AAAAAAAA!" He was trying to focus on her words to block out the pain, "Well...I could say the same for you...You think you're so high and mighty...you think you can trample your high heels all over a man's heart...who do you think...made me this way..."

"Oh, can it." Upon hearing those words, she plowed his head into the ground. She pinned him down on all fours and stabbed his neck. Upon contact, the IS glowed all over his body, "Can you say the same thing without that weapon of mass destruction?" Sokoto felt that glow and emerged his head out of the ground. He turned to his shoulder to see what's happening, but the glow was already gone. And so was his IS, now reverted back to collar-and-bracelet mode.

"NO! AGH!" He got his head shoved back into the ground again. Tabane grabbed his collar and strangled him trying to rip it off. He tried to break free of her grasp, but she felt two tons heavier than she should be. A few seconds later, he saw stars. His body gave way to the harsh gravity around him. This girl's just trying to kill him now. Any minute, he'll be sent into the great beyond. His eyes rolled back as he felt the last of his breath finally escape from his body.

*SNAP!*

"AUGH...huh...huh..." Finally, the air tunnels have been freed of constriction. His body has also been freed from that dead-weight that was crushing him. He slowly lifted himself out of the earth and took in his first full gulps of fresh atmosphere. He lost all feeling in his oral muscles as he panted for air like a dehydrated dog. He weakly propped his head up to see what has transpired.

He was completely surrounded. Soldiers, members of this facility, even the people he'd pissed off, and especially the four vixens of the IS...everyone had come out to witness this spectacle. They were all looking down at him with disdain, mocking him in his weary state, venting out their anger with the icy glares on their eyes and the wicked smirks on their faces. And right in front of him stood the very person who drained him of his dignity.

"You..." He tried to muster up the strength to utter his thoughts through his teeth, "What...what have you done?..."

"Oh, nothing in particular," Tabane haughtily answered, "Just thought that this little puppy didn't fit you at all." She twirled his collar about her finger.

No way. She got it off! She actually got the collar off of him! Hang on. If the collar came off, then...Sokoto checked his left wrist.

Gone. No bracelet. No collar. One look into her eyes. Yeah, thought so.

"You took my-" Sokoto's waining energy suddenly resurged in the form of extreme anger.

"Your suit?" Tabane taunted, "Your weapon? Your precious charm bracelet? Go on. Let's hear you say it. Come on." That was the trigger point. She already made him a laughing stock of the whole island. Her dare made him look around at all of those people that stood over him. All of those insults of his dirty clothes, his failed mission, how he has nothing to prove except that he's a filthy rag that should be left to burn in the bonfire, and how his origins are so low that they could just limbo under his entire family tree...Every single possible demeaning remark finally penetrated his thick skull. They just simmered in his brain for a minute to allow those memories of literally being stepped on by everyone he met pollute his mind.

"YOU TOOK MY BEST FRIEND!" And Sokoto lost it. He charged head first toward Tabane's hand in a desperate attempt to rescue his two-pieced companion, only to be met with a fist in the eye. He screamed in agony and rage.

"Oops!" Tabane cheerfully said, "Did I just break your eye? Here, let me fix that." She fixed it by elbowing his head and knocking him down to the ground again. She finished her repair by kicking him back ten feet. Half of the crowd made sport of this beatdown, cheering for the rabbit girl to take him in and be done with it.

"I must admit," Cecilia said to her companions, "Normally I detest this kind of behavior, but seeing someone I despise getting his just desserts is rather refreshing."

"Jawhol," Clarissa hissed, "Finally, that little slime will feel our wrath."

"After a grueling round of experimentation," Chelsea added, "We still need him intact for our brutal testing."

"I'd like to have a few words with him as well," Laura finished, "In the depths of Hell."

"Save it," Orimura declared, "I get first crack at him."

"UGH!" Sokoto got knocked down again. This was his fifth failed attempt to try and snatch Silvia from the clutched of Tabane. Everyone was ready to jump in and beat him down for good. But he knew he couldn't let her go like this. He can't give up until he is reunited with Silvia. He got up once again. Everyone booed and hissed.

"Oh my word!" Tabane marveled at his resurgence from the jaws of utter defeat, "You're a resilient little man aren't ya?!"

Sokoto finally stood himself up once more to face Tabane. He was more determined than ever to make his mark on these weird people who tried to detain him. He must've known that rescuing his IS was an impossibility now. The only thing he can do was fight on until he collapsed from exhaustion. He wiped the blood from his forehead and mouth and charged at her again.

"Don't worry," Tabane readied herself to finally end this, "I know just the thing to calm you down."

The moment he came into range, she side-kicked him, driving her heel into his ribs. They could hear it crack, but he couldn't. He was too focused on her kick. The attack which cannot be taken back. The leg that has been thrown which cannot be recalled. At the instant of contact, he brought his arms up, then swung them into her kicking leg.

*CRACK!*

They both froze.

At the sound of the second crack, the entire island shut up. All the residents of the island had their breaths robbed from them by the conclusion of the brawl. They glanced at Sokoto. Blood leaked from his ribs, but he just remained unfazed, his eyes fixed in a death glare.

Tabane still stood her pose as well. But her head was different. Her face had a look of shock; her lips were trembling, and her eyes were fixated on her leg. Trapped between his arms. Bent the other way.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGH~" Her howl of pain sent extreme chills down the spines of the spectators, who could do nothing other than to allow their knees to give way in response. Her leg was released, feeling nothing other than pain as her foot loosed itself from the shoe. She went down.

From that moment onward, everything went to crap.

"ALL UNITS, OPEN FIRE!" Someone heard the shout and immediately fired on the one still standing. Sokoto forcefully dislodged the shoe from his ribs and used it to block the incoming bullets while he fled the scene. He had no more strength left to fight. He was now heavily outnumbered and outgunned. The bullets kept coming, and he kept running away. But he can't take his eyes off his assailants, lest he lose sight of the one stray bullet that would kill him instantly. And they all wanted to be the one who let loose that bullet. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a demonic banshee screaming into the sunset. Then, a small boom. He momentarily took his eyes off the raining hellfire to see what happened. Someone launched a rocket at him! That's a one-hit kill if it connects with him! Well, he figured if the shoe can block bullets, then maybe it could work wonders on this giant thing! He shoved the shoe in the rocket's path while shrugging off some scathes from the bullets.

The rocket hit the shoe, triggering a deafening explosion that, surprisingly, didn't kill him outright. Instead, it sent him flying. Fast. Forever out of their reach. The explosion caught everyone else off guard as well, enveloping then in a cloud of smoke and dust. They all scrambled to retain a sense of order in this ominous shroud of chaos. When the dust finally settled, they found no trace of the boy. No blood, no guts, not even a shred of garment. Just pieces of a high-heel sandal that caved under the pressure.

"Lieutenant...the boy...he's..."

"He...got...AWAY?!" Clarissa's face was now as red as Laura's forehead. She then tapped into her communication systems and opened all channels, "ALL UNITS, CODE RED! THE VERMIN HAS ESCAPED THE NEST, BOUND FOR JAPANESE MAINLAND! FIND HIM AND BRING HIM BACK TO THE IS ACADEMY IMMEDIATELY!"

"SERGEANT MAJOR WOLFANGER!" Laura boomed, "ASSEMBLE A TASK FORCE TO HUNT THIS MAN DOWN IMMEDIATELY! HE MUST NOT BE ALLOWED INTO THE OPEN WORLD!"

Chelsea and Cecilia tended to Tabane's busted leg, as Tabane continued to writhe in agony while thoughts of disbelief raced through her mind.

How could he have broken her leg?! She enhanced her body, down to the cellular level! She was supposed to be the peak of superhuman strength, matched only by Chifuyu Orimura! She was supposed to be the the world's strongest! How could a mere tiny tyke wreck her leg like that?!

"We have to get her leg back into normal posture to start the recovery!" Cecilia rushed medics to her side, "I need endorphin bags, stat!"

"This way!" Chelsea cleared the debris to create a private space for the medical team to operate, "We need to make room for them! Everyone, clear out and assist the recovery efforts!" What recovery efforts?! The IS Academy's trashed thanks to your naive arrogance! No, you don't need recovery! You need a full remake!

And right in the middle of the chaotic scene stood a motionless Chifuyu Orimura, the woman who paved the way for the IS's permanent place in the world. The woman who saw her peaceful realms completely shattered by the devil in yellow and blue. The peace in which she had given everything to maintain...her ideal world in which technology and humankind could coexist in peace...

...and this little idiot had the gall to ruin everything. She bowed her head in shame, briefly acknowledging his power. Then, her still hands turned into fists of fury. Her teeth showed its fangs.

She swore revenge on him at all costs. She will not stop until she drops his severed head in the abyss.

'If this is going where I think it's going,' Yamada thought to herself while hiding in the bushes, 'then the world can't wait until this kid surfaces. I'm sorry, Chifuyu...I don't have a choice..."

Back on the mainland, in a forested neighborhood...

The strikes of wooden swords and shouts of declaration echoed throughout the streets of the neighborhood. They came from a humble dojo sitting on top of a hill, overlooking the sunset as the final battles were resolved and put to rest.

"Ok, everyone!" A high-spirited man called to the students of the dojo, "Good work today! I can see you're all improving on your forms and your strikes! Keep it up and you'll be able to strive far in the upcoming tournament!"

They all let out a small cheer.

"But that doesn't mean you can slack off in you training," a woman in a ponytail and white ribbon stepped in to join, "You all have your pride as a student of the sword. Remember that you have a duty to your family and yourself as long as you carry that sword with you."

"Yes, Shinonono-sensei!"

"That said, I have nothing but grateful remarks and positive thoughts of all of you as we approach the weekend. Make sure you treat yourself right, understood?"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Alright, I think that about wraps this up!" The man stepped forward to call to attention, "Class!"

The students stood at attention to salute their masters,

"どうもありがとうございました！折村-先生! 篠ノ之-先生!" (Thank you very much! Orimura-sensei! Shinonono-sensei!)

The teachers and the students bowed to each other. Five minutes later, the dojo stood empty. The teachers just stood there, absorbing the sweet silence created by the empty space. Until the woman broke the peace,

"Sometimes, Ichika, I get the feeling that you're just too nice."

"Oh, the better to compliment that demon-like temperance of yours, Houki."

"Urk...Since when do I give off the impression of a two-horned beet monster?!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the mood here, ok?"

"Well, you're not doing a very good job of it." Houki crossed her arms and turn her back to him.

"Come on, honey," He hugger her from behind, causing her to blush and blow smoke out of her ears. "When's the last time you let yourself fall into the moment?"

"Not now..I'm all sweaty..."

"Ok, then...how about I make us some tonkatsu while you brush up?"

"Um...sure...I'll go now..." She slaps some sense in herself and rushes off to the bath, her pride completely substituted by embarrassment. Silence once again.

"Hahhh..." Ichika sighed, "Can't believe we've dated for over a year and a half now...And even then, I still feel like it's not set in stone yet...Yeah, I got the ring, but I dunno when I should-"

Just then, he heard his cellphone vibrate. He ran across the dojo space to the kitchen and answered it, "Hello? Joushou Kishi Dojo. Ichika speaking...Oh! Miss Yamada! How have you been?!..."

A few minutes later, Houki emerges from the bath in her pajamas, "Ok, Ichika. I'm here. Hmm? What's wrong?"

She saw him kneeling down at the dinner table, hands folded as if he's praying to something.

"Ichika? Hey, sweetie? Did something happen?" She leaned her hand on his shoulder.

"Another male pilot has emerged."

"A what?"

"A for-real second male IS pilot has emerged...and destroyed the IS Academy..."

"What?!" She backed away slowly, horrified at the revelation that he has passed onto her. The IS Academy...destroyed?! HOW?! That was supposed to be the place of protection! Security! Without it, Japan's going to take a turn for the downfall! "What are we gonna do?!"

"We have to meet Miss Yamada at the tram by 14:00 tomorrow."

"Seriously?! But what about the tournament?! What are we gonna tell the students?!"

"We'll just tell them that there's a family emergency and we have to tend to them."

"You think they'll find out what's really going on?"

"Hopefully not, if we're discrete about it. No, they can't know about this. I dunno what I'll do if they get dragged into this."

"It's gonna be alright," she cupped her hands around his, "We've been through thicker and thinner situations. This'll be no sweat to us, I'm sure."

"...Thanks, Houki...Well...let's talk about this over dinner then, shall we?"

And so, the two prepared for possibly their last dinner together as they discussed the situation like a pair of friends talking about how to pull off their latest prank.

...

_Holy moly role poly oly guacamoly! What just happened?! I'll tell ya what just happened!_

_The two biggest stars have been called into the fray! Sokoto has finally met someone even stronger than him! The only place in Japan that serves as a beacon of light for this world has ben totaled! The peace has officially been shattered, even before the crazy-fast encounters! And I do believe I have just given birth to an ogre-unicorn hybrid!_

_Please stick with me throughout this entire endeavor! Or even suggest ideas on where this entire story should go! Because I can safely say that I have set this up to be something that could be out of my control!_

_Also...OVER 4500 WORDS._

_Cram crap rap ram bam blam..._


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